A truly exotic vacation

We’re been to a few non-traditional places for vacation, I suppose. We’ve been to Myanmar, twice. We’ve visited the Czech Republic, Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, Costa Rica, Beijing, Venice, York and, when I was a kid, Uruguay, Brazil and Columbia. We’ve seen the Oregon Vortex, the Voodoo Museum in New Orleans and chased the tail of a hurricane down the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

So to celebrate youngest daughter’s graduation from High School, we decided to go someplace really exotic and different. Someplace nobody would ever expect us to go. A place to challenge our notions and assumptions of reality and stretch our concepts of ourselves and our country. That’s right. We’re going to Walt Disney World.

Growing up in Colorado and living on the west coast of the US for most of my life, I have visited Disneyland in California enough times to think I understand the theme park experience. But I have never been to The World before.

Preliminary research indicates that The Mouse has invested the Florida swamp with an amazing infrastructure unheard of in Anaheim. 25 Disney owned hotels, 209 restaurants, a campground, four separate theme parks, two water parks, 5 golf courses. All of this surrounded by the usual halo of non-Disney hotels, restaurants, competing theme parks and attractions. A self-contained World indeed to shut out reality and reinvent.